My petition is about keeping Christmas special. The way I see it, we are one step away from Christmas being all year round. That said, the fact that it seems to start in September already creates a number of issues. Don’t get me wrong..I realise many people will assume I dislike this holiday. Far from it, which is why I find myself becoming more and more enraged every year at how early the shops dig out their Christmas stock. This not only dilutes the excitement but it makes us feel as though our lives our getting shorter. We find ourselves saying “it’s nearly Christmas!”...NO IT ISN’T. We are made to feel as though it’s the end of the year when I actually feel as though I’ve only just sent my husband up to the attic with the decorations! 

The other argument I’d like to put forward it for those people who find Christmas particularly difficult. When tragedies strike on poignant holidays such as this, it can stir up emotions that maybe we’d like to hold off as long as possible. Poor mental health is a huge and growing problem in the UK. Not only that, we are struggling as a nation when it comes to money and pressure to buy our children more and more expensive presents. Do we really need to be worrying about it 4 months before the day? 

A day. It’s ONE day. One day that millions of people celebrate and enjoy. We could still do that if the shops brought out their merchandise in November.  

 I heard only yesterday from a shop assistant how they will be fed up of hearing Jingle Bells by October, when we haven’t even enjoyed Halloween or Bonfire night yet! 

I’d say that 99% of the people I speak to about this issue agree with me. That’s not being big-headed, it’s fact. 

Please sign this petition if you’d like shops to be banned from putting out Christmas merchandise until AT LEAST November. 

Thanks for reading, 

Caroline Byrne